p15 ttg_lux_Q&A Wint09 27/11/09 14:24 Page 15
people wanted to see in order to make them I hEar you havE mEt thE QuEEn?
feel welcome. We pioneered putting Croatia Yes, a few times. Under the City Luxury Hotels
on the map as a travel destination, and other brand, we have Sir Christopher Wren’s House
hotel groups have obviously since followed. Hotel and Spa [it was the British architect’s
former home] beneath the ramparts of Windsor
Q&A
What’s spEcial about Croatia? Castle. So, with this proximity, I do get to meet
It is a natural place with stunning coastline the Queen sometimes and have sponsored
and 1,140 islands that are beautifully unspoilt. the Royal Windsor Horse Show in the past. We
It’s culturally attractive, including Dubrovnik’s have done a lot of regeneration for the area.
Unesco-listed Old Town, of course, and the
people are so warm and kind. It offers a What’s coming up For you?
relaxing atmosphere – that’s what luxury We have launched Luxury Villas as a new
travellers are increasingly searching for. brand – the flagship is Villa Agave [Kevin
Spacey is already a fan] next to the Hotel
What kind oF yEar havE you had? Excelsior. Soon we will have the Villa Cavtat,
People have still wanted to honour themselves Villa Palace and Villa Bellevue, but we have
GORAN STROK with having a holiday. We wanted to make sure put our plans on hold for now. We also own
With a career spanning racing driver, our sales people were still out there and it two islands that we will develop small hotels
businessman, property developer and finally hasn’t all been as bad as we thought. We on, again, when the economic climate is more
hotelier, Goran Strok is the Croatian chairman maintained respectable rates and occupancy favourable. We want them to have an organic,
and founder of GS Hotels and Resorts, having – as high as 90% at one point in the season, eco-friendly feel – something lacking in the
invested more than €160 million rebuilding but averaging out at around 55-6%. market at the moment in Croatia. (alh.hr)
tourism to his country in the last 15 years.
Your wiFE is an intErior
How did you gEt startEd in dEsignEr For thE hotEls –
hotEls? do you work wEll togEthEr?
To help the economy grow after the war in Absolutely. We have been married for more
Croatia in the 1990s, a lot needed to be done than 40 years and understand each other. My
and I was keen to give tourism a rebirth as a daughter Vanja was going to work with me on
way towards achieving that. Since then, I have the interior designs for our Kompas Hotel in
managed, or been involved with, 16 hotels Dubrovnik – it’s a three-star at the moment,
altogether. Through our hotels, including but we want it to become five-star – but our
Excelsior Hotel & Spa and Hotel Bellevue in plans are not as rapid as we would like. Vanja
Dubrovnik, we improved the perception of became well regarded as a fashion designer
Croatia and brought luxury to the destination. [she was a founder of the Gharani Strok label]
When I started, we virtually had to teach the and I know we will be working on our hotel
people to smile and instill that this was what together as soon as we can.
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